Author Archive

Be sure to visit this fabulous Blog Site appropriately named “Hiker Hell” which has stories on hiker accidents and rescues all over the world with photos and news links. Many are submitted by readers. They have started to include websites and logos for any SAR units that were involved and if you look at some recent ones you may see some logos from KCSARA units.

Over four years ago, Brian read “Touching the Void” and he was always intrigued by situations hikers find themselves in and the incredible things they do to stay alive.This blog is about learning from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones.

“Better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat”

The Mountain Rescue Association, of which SMR is a member, has an International Exchange Program and an International Partnership Program which you can read all about at their websites shown below. If you take a look at our European and other counterparts you will see that they are not exclusively “mountain rescue” but are units specializing in terrain rescue, ski patrolling, avalanche rescue, search dogs, and much more which almost includes the entire gamut of KCSARA. Maybe some other KCSARA members have connections or relations with overseas SAR groups or would like to do so. I know SPART has Milan from Slovakia, 4×4 has someone from Israel, and I hear some British accents here and there! Please take a look at these programs and consider some participation at whatever level you feel comfortable with.Art, MRA Intl Committee

International Exchange. MRA teams and individuals have participated in a number of exchanges with international teams, see the page http://www.mra.org/international/exchange.php. We hope to have more write-ups from past programs, similar to the ones for Norway and Ireland listed on this page. Anyone who has photos or information from past programs, please send them to a committee member.

Partnership Program. See the page at http://www.mra.org/international/partnership.php with all the details. Although this program has been in place for three or four years, we have had few MRA teams actively participate. Some people think they need the approval of their board members, others may be reluctant to send an e-mail to someone they have never met overseas. As a way to get the process moving we have been posting “profiles” from international teams interested in participating, we now have seven profiles posted.

Argentina G.O.E.R: Our First Team from South America is now profiled on our partnership page, see the team and contact information. Two other teams listed, the Bosnians and the Serbs (they fought a war not too long ago) are interested in hearing from teams or individuals in the US.

Each year MRA sends representatives to the IKAR annual meeting, this year it will be in Pontresina, Switzerland October 16-20. We file detailed reports after each meeting, check the 2006 reports on http://www.mra.org/training/ikar.php Those of us who have been fortunate to participate in IKAR feel that we can learn much from our international counterparts, and we will do our best to pass the information on to the MRA membership.

And here’s a story on a most unusual mountain rescue in Austria for your reading pleasure:For the past 60 years, farmers have driven their cows to the high pastures at 1450 meters high Pribitz-Alm without anything happening but twice in one day it “hit the fan.”. At 0800 three of the 34 cows fell 200 over a cliff on the trail and were killed and had to be recovered with a tractor winch. Only one hour later, part of the herd were spooked by something and seven cows fell 350 meters. Mountain Rescue was notified and a helicopter was requested. A veterinarian had to rappel down to examine and tranquilize the cows. This was an unusual situation for Mountain Rescue to recover 760-kg animals. One cow was dead, two injured and four were able to continue their trip to the pasture – but in a trailer. (Kleine Zeitung – Graz,Austria)

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO READ?If you are looking for a great gift for a fellow SAR member or for yourself, check out the book written by Rocky Mountain Rescue Group’s Mark Scott-Nash about his experiences with the team. Mark did a great job explaining the more technical sides without overwhelming the non-technical reader. You find more information on the book at:http://www.rmrg.net/html/PlayingForReal.html

Missing Mountain Biker Found At HospitalBiker Reported Missing WednesdayPOSTED: 12:15 pm PDT June 14, 2007UPDATED: 11:57 pm PDT June 14, 2007URL: http://www.knbc.com:80/news/13504602/detail.html?rss=la&psp=newsLOS ANGELES — Authorities have found a 45-year-old mountain biker who wasreported missing Wednesday night.Laurence Lloyd was last seen Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m. in the mountainsnorth of Glendora, according to police, and search and rescue teams searchedfor him into early Thursday. Apparently, Lloyd was already in a hospital,but nobody knew, KNBC reported. He became sick while mountain biking andmade it to a hospital in Pomona. However, he passed out and wasn’t able tocontact anyone until late Thursday, KNBC reported.

Gerhardt from the Cowichan BC SAR created a public album of lots of photos from WASAR 2007 last month at Crystal Mtn with interesting shots of Tacoma Mountain Rescue’s vacuum splint and the "Million Dollar Command Post." Go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/ravenwoods/WASAR_2007

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